Democratic Erosion University Course Student Blog

Students enrolled in our course are encouraged to write for the course blog, and to read and comment on posts from students at other participating universities. The blog offers students the opportunity to analyze current events through the lens of the theory and case studies they engage with through the course.

These are student blog posts written by student participants in the Democratic Erosion Course. These posts were not written by nor represent the views of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

A Green Card Once Meant Protection: Now it is Fear

A Green Card Once Meant Protection: Now it is Fear By Fotios E. Meimeteas Imagine you are a single mother in the United States, raising four children who depend on you. You have established a new life, built a home, paid taxes, and lived in the United States for...

Food Security is Rooted Abroad

Global fertilizer supply chains connect geopolitical events abroad to food production at home in ways most consumers don’t see.

The Meaning of Silence : What the moment of silence for Melissa Hortman says about American democracy

On June 14, 2025, the lives of Melissa Hortman who was a House speaker in Minnesota and her husband Mark were taken in what authorities believe to be a politically motivated act of violence. The same day Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot and...

Americans Care About Their Vote: A Student’s Perspective On Poll Working

Jan 11, 2023 | Georgia State University Perimeter College

By: Kimberly Brown Georgia State University With political polarization levels being higher than ever seen, citizens are divided on almost every belief: except voting. The...

What has PiS done to the one-time democratic-front runner, Poland, in the name of Democracy?

Jan 6, 2023 | Sabanci University

Democracy has been specified as the fundamental reason for the long-unseen historical record of the reign of peace. Today, the world is experiencing a major threat to...

No, Robert Reich, the Future Doesn’t Have to Be Populist. By Aidan Calvelli @ Brown University

Oct 9, 2017 | Brown University

The rise and election of Donald Trump left many Democrats reeling, searching for a way to understand the current political moment. To Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton...

Better Lines, Better Democracy. By Aidan Calvelli @ Brown University

Oct 9, 2017 | Brown University

It’s no bold claim to say that the United States is a democracy. Our Constitution, one of the earliest iterations of representative government and the model for hundreds more worldwide, formalized...

Does Spain’s Response to Catalonia Serve as Evidence of Democratic Breakdown?

Oct 8, 2017 | Boston University

On October 1, Spain responded to what they deemed an illegal referendum by employing police forces to stop individuals in the region of Catalonia from voting for or against independence from Spain....

The Rise of Stealth Authoritarianism in Cambodia By Michaela Kollin At Boston University

Oct 8, 2017 | Boston University

Stealth Authoritarianism in Cambodia Overt authoritarianism has become extremely costly, prompting trade sanctions and other international punishments, according to scholars such as Varol. In order...

When Corruption is not Enough: Legitimacy and the Case of South Africa. by Micah Rosen @ Brown University

Oct 4, 2017 | Brown University

In 1994, South Africa broke a wicked spell of white control, saying its last goodbye to a horrifically undemocratic apartheid political system. But champions of democracy must be careful to turn the...

Facts Matter: Fighting Populism in a Post-Truth World. by Matthew Jarrell @ Brown University

Oct 3, 2017 | Brown University

The goal of any scientific inquiry is ostensibly to find or at least approximate some sort of truth. When we examine a phenomenon in the world, we strive to make statements or posit theories about...

Standing, Kneeling, and Absence: Is Democracy Backsliding? by: Zach Witkin @ Brown University

Oct 2, 2017 | Brown University

Following the election of Donald Trump, many of those who oppose him were, and still are, concerned about the future of democracy. The populist minded leader uses, and keeps using, his platform as a...

Campaign Finance as Stealth Authoritarianism by Rachel Bennetts @ Boston University

Oct 2, 2017 | Boston University

In his essay “Stealth Authoritarianism”, Ozan Varol argues that leaders can maintain the facade of democratic values and institutions, while really backsliding towards authoritarianism. One...

Free speech has taken a knee, but Trump doesn’t really want it to stand tall. By Gianpaulo Pons at Boston University.

Sep 28, 2017 | Boston University

Free speech, in any form of expression, has been a heavily contested topic this weekend in regards to the National Football League (NFL). It began at a rally on Friday, September 22 when President...